Page 91 of When the Viscount Seduces
Lazarus began unlacing her walking boots as her mother stared at him.
“Gwen’s maid can do that,” her mother said, appearing aghast.
“Her maid is not present at the moment,” Lazarus said pleasantly. “As her almost husband, I don’t mind performing the task.” He sent a wicked look toward Gwen, and she dearly wished her mother wasn’t there.
“What is this I hear of an injury and a wedding?” Gwen’s father’s voice boomed as he strode into the bedchamber.
“I will explain,” Gwen said as Lazarus lifted her legs onto the bed and positioned pillows behind her so she could sit up against the headboard. She then launched into a detailed narrative of the Worsleys’ attempt to force Lazarus into marriage. When she arrived at the part about Tremblay being the father of the baby, Gwen’s mother had to sit down in a chair near the hearth.
“Wasn’t that your dancing master?” Gwen’s father asked.
“Briefly,” Gwen said. “However, I didn’t care for his demeanor, and I told Mama I didn’t wish to see him again.”
“I should have listened to you after the first lesson,” Mama said, her face nearly gray.
Gwen looked at Lazarus standing beside the bed, his hand resting next to her uninjured arm on the coverlet. “You can sit, if you like,” she said to him softly, inclining her head toward a chair that he could pull close to the bed.
“When they leave,” he whispered with a wink.
“You still haven’t explained your injury,” her father noted with a stern frown.
“Will you allow me to share this part?” Lazarus asked Gwen. “I think your heroism will shine more with my telling.”
Gwen grinned. “By all means.”
Lazarus detailed his visit to Tremblay’s musician assistant, which was new to Gwen. She had wondered why the man was there, but there hadn’t been time to ask about that. Then Lazarus explained how he’d informed Mrs. Worsley that he would not be marrying her daughter. She’d been upset, but Lazarus had never imagined she might become violent. Then he told of how he encountered Gwen and what happened after with Mrs. Worsley shooting at them.
Gwen worried her father’s head was going to burst. She’d never seen his face so red. And was he shaking?
“What were you thinking, putting yourself in danger like that?” he asked angrily.
“I did ask her the same thing,” Lazarus said.
“Good,” her father grunted.
“Papa, I am sure you would have done the same for Mama. We don’t think when we see the person we love most in harm’s way. We just act.” She lifted her shoulders in a light shrug, then winced as pain shot up her right arm.
“Oh, my poor dear, you must rest,” her mother said urgently.
“We need to send for a physician.” Her father started toward the door.
“That isn’t necessary,” Lazarus said. “She has already been seen, stitched, and dosed with rum.”
“Stitches?” her mother asked faintly.
“I am fine, Mama. Truly. It barely hurts.”
Lazarus looked down at Gwen. “You need to rest.” Then he lifted his head to address her parents. “We decided not to notifyBow Street. No one wants a scandal, and Miss Worsley has already suffered a great deal.”
“She tried to force you into marriage,” Gwen’s father said. “I would not be so charitable.”
Gwen looked to her father. “Papa, we would just like to put this behind us. We just want to focus on our upcoming nuptials.”
Lazarus looked squarely at her father. “We do hope you will be happy for us.”
Her father glowered at Lazarus. “I expect you to make her happy, and not just in the short term before you lose interest.”
Gwen felt Lazarus tense and saw his pulse ticking rapidly in his neck. “Papa, that isn’t going to happen.”
